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HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE; 


I  UN  14  191P 

DELIVERED  OCT.  29,   1851,  AT  THE  Ah.  ^. 


One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary 


OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 


, 


First  Congregational  Church, 


(THE  SECOND  IN  THE  STATE,)  IN 


WELLi,  fif  AINE, 


By  REV.  JAS.  R.  CUSHING. 


'  '8^v*"*' 


PORTLAND 

1851. 


DISCOURSE. 


Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children  -whom  thou  mayest  make 
frinces  in  all  the  earth. — Ps.  45  :  16. 

»^UCII  is  the  prediction  of  the  royal  psalmist  respect- 
ing the  christian  church.  He  commences  the  psalm  with  a 
glowing  description  of  the  excellency  and  dignity  of  the 
Messiah,  her  founder  and  head.  "My  heart,"  he  says,  "is  in- 
diting a  good  matter/'  or  more  literally,  boileth  or  bubbleth  up 
a  good  word.  "I  speak  of  the  things  which  I  have  made  touch- 
ing the  King.  My  tongue  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer.'' 
"He  was,"  says  Bishop  Home,  "full  of  the  divine  spirit, 
which  inspired  him  with  the  good  word  or  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation.  The  sacred  fire  enclosed  in  his  heart,  expanded 
itself  within,  till  at  length  it  broke  forth  with  impetuosity 
to  enlighten  and  revive  mankind  with  the  glorious  predic- 
tion touching  the  King,  the  Messiah;  and  this  was  uttered 
under  the  guidance  of  the  spirit,  as  the  pen  is  directed  by 
the  hand  that  holds  it  "  Having  spoken  of  the  King,  the 
head  of  the  church,  of  his  spiritual  beauty  and  eloquence, 
for  grace  was  poured  into  his  lips  ;  of  victories  and  power 
over  his  enemies;  of  his  throne  and  sceptre;  of  his  right- 
eousness, royal  robes  and  palace,  all  glorious  within,  he 
introduces  the  church  as  his  spouse.  He  describes  her  dress 
and  appearance,  foretells  her  future  prosperity  when  nations 
would  bring  their  choicest  gifts  and  lay  them  at  her  feet. 
Next  he  sets  forth  her  altars  with  her  numerous  atten- 
dants and  the  universal  joy  ami  gladness  consequent  upon 
the  grand  solemnization  of  her  nuptials  and  the  precious  and 
abundant  fruits  of  the  union.  "  Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall 
be  thy. children  whom  thou  mayest  make  princes  in  all  the 
earth."  He  assures  the  spouse  of  the  church  an  illus- 
trious and  royal  progeny  of  believers,  who  should  become 
kings  aud  priests  unto  God,  and  reign  ever  on    earth    as    in 


reality  the  most  honorable  persons  inany  land.  They  were 
to  reign,  however,  not  so  much  by  actually  wielding  the 
sceptre  of  dominion,  or  by  wearing  the  badges,  and  sit- 
ting upon  the  throne  of  royalty,  as  by  the  broad  and  deep 
moral  power  of  their  principles.  Through  all  ages,  a  numer- 
ous succession  of  converts  should  arise  out  of  this  new  and 
sacred  relation  between  the  Messiah  and  the  church, whose  in- 
fluence for  the  good  of  mankind  should  reach  from  sea  to 
Bea  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth;  thus  clearly 
indicating  that  the  time  would  come  when  the  church,  how- 
ever much  despised  and  oppressed,  should,  of  her  sons,  fur- 
nish kings  and  riders  through  all  nations,  as  well  as  innum- 
erable heirs  of  an  eternal  kingdom  in  Heaven.  That  the 
true  church  is  to  become  universal,  is  to  possess  the  king- 
dom and  the  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom 
under  the  whole  heavens,  is  confirmed  both  by  promises  and 
prophecy.  The  last  verse  of  the  Psalm  is  in  point:  I  will 
make  thy  name  to  be  remembered  in  all  generations  :  there- 
fore shall  the  people  praise  thee  for  ever  and  ever.  This 
verse  shows  Dr.  Scott,  "That  Christ  and  the  church  are  im- 
mediately and  expressly  intended  throughout  the  Psalm. 
The  language  is  peculiarly  emphatical  and  can  mean  nothing 
less  than  all  succeeding  generations  to  the  end  of  the  earth, 
and  likewise  to  endless  ages  in  Heaven  "  And  there  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt  but  that  this  will  be  verified  in  the 
event.  To  nothing  else  on  earth  are  there  such  glorious  and 
transcendent  promises  made  as  are  made  to  the  true  church. 
And,  oh,  if  these  promises  were  only  engraved  upon  her 
heart,  as  they  are  engraven  upon  the  divine  heart,  what  sor- 
row after  a  godly  sort,  what  carefulness,  yea,  what  clearing 
of  themselves  ;  yea,  what  indignation  ;  yea,  what  fear,  yea 
what  vehement  desire,  yea  what  zeal,  yea,  what  revenge  would 
be  wrought  into  the  heart  of  all  her  members  that  in  all 
respect*  they  might  approve  themselves  to  be  clear  in  every  mat- 
ter, which  should,  in  the  least,  stain  her  beauty,  or  mar  her 
honor  or  retard  her  growth. 

In  the  humble  hope  of  stirring  up    3rour   minds  by  way  of 


remembrance,  I  have  desired  to  speak  to  you,  my  brethren,  on 
this  occasion,  with  no  ordinary  depth  of  interest.  Today  we 
occupy  an  important  position,  a   position    which    renders    it 

peculiarly  proper  and  important  to  reflect  not  only  upon  the 
love  and  fidelity  of  God  to  the  chuich,  but  upon  the  days 
and  years  that  are  now  numbered  and  finished.  Today 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  this  church  was  organized 
and  ieceived  from  the  hands  of  a  small  council  composed  of 
the  ministers  from  Newbury,  Dover,  Portsmouth  and  York 
their  first  regularly  ordained  minister.  But  the  fathers  where 
are  they  ?  One  generation  of  them  after  another  has  passed 
away,  and  long,  long  before  another  century  and  a  half  has 
been  numbered,  we  shall  all  have  been  laid  by  their  side  in 
the  solemn  silence  of  the  grave.  As  you  have  most  of  you 
the  history  of  this  church,  as  iiravrn  up  by  a  much  abler 
hand  than  mine,  in  your  possession,  there  will  be  no  necessity 
of  my  occupying  your  attention  with  anything  more  than  an 
incidental  allusion  to  the  past,  and  that  only  as  it  shall  be 
found  necessary  in  order  to  illustrate  and  enforce  the  truth 
of  the  text.  That  the  fathers  have  long  since  been  numbered 
with  the  dead  ;  and  thai  you,  many  of  you  their  lineal 
descendants,  are  now  here  before  God  is  proof  that  "instead 
of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children."  In  pursuing  the  subject 
thus  introduced  I  propose 

I.  In  the  first  place  to  call  your  attention  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the   fathers. 

II.  In  the  second  place  to  notice  the  promise,  "Instead  of 
thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children." 

III.  The  advantages  of  having  such  an  ancestry. 

IV.  The  obligations  resting  upon  us  to  hand  down  unim- 
paired the  institutions  and' influences  they  have  left  us. 

In  the  first  place  we  are  to  notice  the  character  of  the 
fathers. 

We  cannot  think  as  we  should  think,  nor  feel  as  we  should 
feel,  nor  be  what  we  should  be,  without  frequent  and  pro- 
tracted communings  with  the  characters  that  have  lived 
before  us,   without    serious    reflection  on  the  events  that  are 


6 


already  registered  in  the  chronicles  of  time.  It  might  be 
reasonably  supposed  that  a  godly  ancestry  would  prove  a 
great  blessing  to  their  descendants,  were  there  no  lads  to 
demonstrate  it.  For  they  whom  tlie  Lord  has  delighted  in, 
to  love  them,  live  not  unto  themselves,  but  for  their  generation 
and  their  posterity.  It  seems  needless  to  say  that  the  fathers 
and  founders  of  these  Eastern  states  were  pious  men,  who 
for  conscience  sake  sought  a  resilience  in  this  land  that  they 
might  enjoy  the  religious  privileges  which  were  denied  them 
in  the  land  of  their  nativity.  About  the  year  1600  the  coun- 
ties of  Lincolnshire  and  Lancastershire  in  old  England  were 
visited  with  a  revival  of  vital  religion.  Many  of  the  lathers 
were  partakers  of  its  spiritual  benefits.  From  that  time  they 
came  to  prize  religion  in  its  vitality  above  all  earthly  con- 
siderations Our  ancestry  were  subjects  of  a  revival  of  pure 
and undelilcd  religion.  Their  history  is  not  enveloped  in  an 
absurd  mythology  nor  lost  in  an  extreme  antiquity  We 
know  the  men  and  their  communication.  Their  records  are 
recent  and  authentic.  We  are  familiar  with  the  names  of 
the  adventurers  by  whom  this  land  was  discovered  and  set- 
tled, and  by  whom  our  civil  and  religious  institutions  were 
planted  and  defended.  The  places  from  which  they  came, 
the  time  when  and  the  object  for  which  they  came 
are  all  on  record.  Plymouth,  the  place  where  the  first  per- 
manent European  settlement  was  made,  is  a  name  familiar 
with  the  youngest  of  our  common  school  children.  They  were 
a  part  of  the  congregation  which,  with  Rev.  John  Robinson 
their  pastor  and  an  orthodox  congregational  minister,  Bed 
from  England  to  Holland,  in  consequence  of  persecution  in 
their  native  land.  But  after  a  residence  of  a  few  years  in 
Holland,  finding  their  children,  whom  they  wished  above 
all  things  to  train  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  i^f  the 
Lord,  exposed  t«  various  temptations  from  the  pernicious 
amusements  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  and  that  they 
might  enjoy  a  larger  religious  liberty,  they,  alter  much 
prayer  and  mutual  consultation,  determined  on  a  removal  to 
this    land.      Unlike    the    settlers    of    South     America,  or   the 


more  recent  settlers  of  California,  gold  was  not  their   object. 
They  were   actuated  by  a  pure    and  lofty  religious    interest. 
That  they  might  escape  from  the  errors  of   Rome  and  enjoy 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  train  up  their  children  in  the  way 
they  should  go,  and  for  God    and  His    church,  and  transmit 
to  them  and  their  posterity  a    pure    religion  and  a  scriptural 
mode  of  worship,  they  were  willing    to  endure    deprivation, 
hardship    and    exile.     They  were    a    reading    and  reflecting 
people,  a  people  of  pure  morals,  of  rigid  honesty,  of  patient, 
self-denying  industry.     They  had  great    courage    and    strong 
faith.     They  were  men  of  prayer.     They  believed  in  its  effi- 
cacy, and    hence    they    entered    upon    no   enterprise  except 
such  as  they  could  commend    to.     heaven    by  prayer.     They 
sanctiGed  the  holy  sabbath.     Even  when  famine    stared  them 
in  the  face,  they  felt  it  far  safer  to  trust  in  the  God  of   the 
sabbath  than '  to    engage    in    any    questionable    or    doubtful 
expedients  for  a  supply.     They  gathered    their    children  and 
households    about    them    for    morning    and  evening  prayers. 
This  delightful  exercise  at    an    early    period  was  almost  uni- 
versal.    So  important  was  it    viewed    that    those    who    neg- 
lected it  had  very  little  reputation  for  intelligence  or  charac- 
ter.    This  service  proved  a  bond  of  union,  a   means  of  order 
and  a  source  of   knowledge.     Besides    family    worship,   they 
often  assembled  for    mutual    exhortation  and  encouragement. 
So  fearful  and  anxious  were   they    for  the    young   that  they 
often  observed  whole  days  of   fasting    and    prayer,  in  which 
they    pleaded    with    God    to    revive  his  work    among    their 
children.     Believing  that    God  was  a  covenant  keeping.  God, 
that    he     would    be    true  to  his  people,  and    had    made  the 
richest  promises  to  them  and  their  posterity,  they  entered  into 
covenant  with,  and   dedicated    their    children    to    him  in  the 
ordinance    of  baptism,  thus    binding    themselves    to  instruct 
and    govern    them,  that    they    might    plead    the    more    ear- 
nestly   his  promises    of    grace    and    mercy    in    their    behalf. 
Oh  if  we  could  now  look    into  the    register   kept    in  heaven 
might  we  not  find  thousands  of  prayers  recorded  against  our 
names!     They  catechised  their  children.     They  built    school- 


8 


houses  for  them  and  planted  churches  ',  were  prompt  in  p-ufr- 
lic  worship.  We  have  the  solemn  and  explicit  testimony  of 
ministers,  statesmen  and  historians  that  religion  was  the 
grand  cause  why  these  Eastern  territories  were  first  settled. 
They  were  also  as  eminently  patriotic  as  they  were  religious. 
To  prepare  them  to  la}r  the  foundations  of  many  generations, 
like  the  Jews  in  Egypt,  God  subjected  them  to  a  course  of 
the  severest  and  most  rigid  discipline.  To  lay  such  founda- 
tions it  required  men  sound  in  judgment,  practical  in  wis- 
dom, and  sincere  in  piety  ',  men  who  had  courage  and  pa- 
tience, who  could  brave  dangers,  endure  hardship  ;  men  who 
could  be  content  with  coarse  fare,  coarse  apparel,  and  rude 
dwellings.  And  just  such  were  the  fathers.  They  were  the 
right  sort  of  men  and  the  right  sort  of  women  to  engage  in 
the  work  for  which  God  had  fitted  them.  They  were  in  fact 
the  only  men  on  earth  who  could  or  would  have  made  New 
England  what  it  is.  Would  pagan  or  infidel  parents  have 
trained  up  such  a  race  of  children?  Would  papists  have 
left  to  their  descendants  a  family  altar,  a  sanctified  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  an  unshackled  press  ?  Would  they 
have  planted  free  schools,  and  trained  the  young  to  reading, 
and  especially  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible  ?  Would  they 
have  instilled  into  the  infant  mind  the  rights  of  conscience 
and  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion  ?  Let  the  degraded 
condition  of  Mexico  and  all  papal  countries  testify.  The 
rejected,  the  wronged  and  oppressed  Puritans  were  the  only 
people  under  the  sun  who,  except  by  miracle,  could  or  would 
have  reared  up  for  their  posterity  such  institutions  as  the 
fathers  of  this  land  have  left  for  us.  And  tlie  religion  of 
the  Puritans  was  the  only  religion  given  under  heaven  among 
men,  which  could  have  sustained  them  amidst  such  hard- 
ships, sacrifices  and  labors  as  they  were  called  to  endure 
while  subduing,  in  the  face  of  a  most  subtle,  insidious  and 
bloodthirsty  foe,  the  mighty  wilderness  which  spread  ail 
over  this  land.  But  God  was  their  God  and  they  were  his 
people.  They  sought  his  honor  and  he  sought  their  welfare. 
In  doctrine   they  were    generally    Calvinists,  in  church  gov- 


9 


ernment  Congregationalists ;  doctrine  and  government  essen- 
tially republican  and  democratic.  Beginning  with  the  prin- 
ciples and  genius  of  the  gospel,  they  drew  from  them  the 
fundamental  elements  of  a  free  government,  mild  yet  firm, 
individual  yet  general :  a  government  modeled  not  for  the 
aggrandisement  of  the  few  and  the  debasement  of  the 
many,  but  for  the  defence  and  perpetuity  of  the  rights  of 
all.  Having  secured  these  at  an  amazing  cost  of  labor  and 
time  and  blood  and  treasure,  they  have  laid  themselves  down 
in  death  and  gone  to  their  rewards.  We  leave  them  to  no- 
tice 

II.  Some  of  the  advantages  derived  from  such  fathers. 
It  would  be  culpable  in  us  to  refer  merely  to  farms  cleared 
of  the  forest,  to  barns  and  dwelling  houses  erected  by  their 
hands  and  vessels  constructed  at  their  cost.  These  are  of 
comparatively  small  moment.  Far  richer  was  the  real  inher- 
itance they  left.  Let  the  Egyptians  glory  in  their  pyra- 
mids, the  Greeks  in  their  sculpture,  the  Roman  or  Italian  in 
cathedrals  and  paintings,  we  have  a  more  glorious  and  en- 
during heritage  from  our  ancestors.  Our  government,  the 
union  of  these  states,  constitutes  an  enviable  item  in  the 
grand  legacy  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  fathers.  To  their 
careful  study  of  the  Bible,  their  faith  in  God,  their  humble 
piety,  united  with  their  noble  patriotism  we  owe  it  that 
our  government  was  formed  after  a  divine  model,  rather  than 
after  the  aristocracies  of  the  old  world.  An  elective  govern- 
ment of  necessity  places  all  power  with  the  body  of  the  peo- 
ple. And  here  is  its  true  and  legitimate  source.  All  offices 
of  trust  and  profit  are  open  to  each  individual  who  has  the 
energy  and  enterprise  to  qualify  himself  for  them.  Taxation  is 
nowhere  allowed  beyond  what  is  necessary  for  the  welfare 
of  the  great  whole.  The  poor  man's  house  is  his  castle,  and 
except  for  crime  no  man  may  forcibly  enter  it  unbidden. 
The  president  may  no  more  enter  it,  except  at  the  will  of  the 
owner,  than  the  obscurest  beggar.  I  would,  but  I  am  warned 
of  the  want  of  time,  speak  of  many  things  which  endear  this 
legacy  to  us  as  of  the  greatest  value. 


10 


Next  to  our  government  our  common  school  system  should 
be  recognized  as  an  invaluable  advantage.  For  even  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  is  of  comparatively  little  value  among  the 
ignorant  and  unenlightened  people.  Our  missionaries  can 
do  little  for  the  benefit  of  those  to  whom  they  bear  the  tid- 
ings of  salvation,  until  they  have  poured  the  light  of  science 
into  the  mind  on  which  they  would  operate.  Under  this  admir- 
able system  no  child  need  be  shut  up  in  the  more  than  iron 
bondage  of  ignorance.  Says  an  able  writer,  "  this  system  is 
simple  in  its  structure,  but  uniform,  universal  and  efficient  in 
its  operation.  Its  parallel  is  hardly  to  be  found  in  the  legis- 
lation of  the  earth."  If  the  question  be  asked  where  does  the 
great  body  of  the  people  acquire  its  taste  for  reading,  its  general 
intelligence  and  talent  for  business,  the  answer  is  at  hand. 
It  is  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  fathers  that  this  system  was 
so  early  adopted,  and  it  is  immensely  to  the  credit  of  their 
children  that  they  are  carrying  it  forward  with  increasing  ef- 
ficiency. 

The  next  grand  bequest  of  the  fathers  I  may  mention 
with  a  just  pride  I  allude  to  a  permanent  and  learned 
ministry.  With  a  good  government  and  an  intelligent  peo- 
ple the  value  of  the  ministry  is  greatly  enhanced.  I  cannot 
so  well  say  what  I  wish  to  say  on  this  subject,  as  in  the 
language  of  another.  "  The  fathers  established  churches  with 
their  first  settlement  on  these  shores.  They  took  their  house- 
holds with  them  to  the  place  of  worship  on  each  returning 
sabbath.  They  provided  for  the  support  of  an  able,  devout 
and  intelligent  ministrv.  They  expected  that  the  priest's  lips 
would  teach  knowledge.  They  waited  at  the  gates  of  wis- 
dom with  reverence  and  prayerfulness.  The  Word  of  God 
was  read  and  expounded.  Hymns  of  praise  were  sung. 
Prayers  were  offered,  and  the  sacraments  were  administered. 
These  services  were  renewed  every  sabbath,  and  from  year 
to  year.  No  one  can  tell  in  this  state  of  being,  how  wide- 
ly extensive  and  how  deepl}'  operative  is  this  system  of  di- 
vine ordinances.  The  conscience  becomes  enlightened,  the 
understanding  enlarged,  the    heart  subdued  and  the  passions 


11 


restrained.  Saints  are  confirmed  and  sinners  are  converted. 
Thousands  of  minds  are  strongly  affected  from  sabbath  to  sab- 
bath. These  means  of  knowlege  and  salvation,  divinely  or- 
dained and  approved,  do  much  to  mould  and  stamp  the  char- 
ter of  a  people.  And  to  the  pure  and  salutary  influence  of 
this  divine  system  were  we  subject  in  our  early  years.  Much 
of  our  talent  and  moral  virtue  may  be  traced  to  this  source. 
Nor  should  we  think  this  item  overrated  if  we  could  look  into 
the  actual  condition  of  pagan  lands.  Truth  is  pure.  Error  is 
contaminating.  Idolatry  renders  base  and  abject,  but  Chris- 
tianity elevates." 

Of  the  four  original  proprietors  one  was  a  clergyman — un- 
der the  sentence  of  banishment,  to  be  sure,  but  doubtless  a 
good  man.  The  Bible,  the  daily  companion  and  counsellor  of 
the  Puritan,  was  left  by  the  fathers  to  their  children.  This  of 
itself  was  an  invaluable  legacy.  I  might  speak  of  the  example 
of  the  fathers  also  as  a  most  precious  bequest,  for  they  being 
dead  still  speak,  but  I  need  not.  The  advantages  derived 
from  these  are  admirably  summed  up  by  the  Hon.  Abbot 
Lawrence,  our  present  Minister  to  England.  In  a  speech  in 
Galway,  Ireland,  he  says,  "Give  the  people  universal  educa- 
tion— and  I  beg  to  be  understood  on  this  point,  living,  as  I 
do  in  a  country  that  is  ruled  by  self  government,  a  govern- 
ment of  the  people  and  from  the  people — our  only  security 
lies  in  universal  education  founded  on  religion.  I  would 
teach  every  man,  woman  and  child  to  read  and  write;  place 
the  Bible  in  their  hands  and  the  people  will  take  care  of 
them." 

III.  We  pass  in  the  third  place  lo  the  promise  of  God  that  in- 
stead of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children.  Has  God  kept  this 
promise?  We  think  he  has  and  with  wonderful  fidelity.  God  is 
a  covenant-keeping  God.  Blessings  promised  to  the  fathers 
do  descend  to  their  children.  Says  Moses  to  the  Israelites, 
"Only  the  Lord  had  a  delight  in  thy  fathers,  that  is,  in 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  to  love  them,  and  he  chose  their' 
seed  after  them."  And  again  he  said,  "0  that  there  were  such 
an  heart  to  fear  me."     God  loved  the  fathers  of  New  England, 


12 


and  hence  he  has  suffered  no  weapon  forced  against  them  or 
their  children  to  prosper.  Now  has  God  kept  the  promise, 
"Instead  of  thy  fathers"  etc.  ?  Let  us  look  at  it  in  the 
light  of  the  New  England  church,  and  of  this  church.  Here 
was  formed,  150  years  ago,  the  second  church  in  this  state. 
Now  there  are  225  of  our  own  denomination,  with  about  1700 
members  and  166  pastors.  Look  over  the  church  and  see 
what  God  has  wrought.  Look  at  New  England  and  see  what 
God  has  done.  Look  over  these  United  States,  and  see  what  God 
has  done.  Look  at  the  great  West.  See  there  what  God  is  doing. 
Wherever  the  pure  New  England  element  is  found,  wherever 
their  descendants  are  found',  there  are  found  the  school,  the 
church  and  the  Bible.  And  who  are  the  leading  men  in 
these  churches?  Who  are  their  ministers?  Search  out  their 
genealogy  and  you  will  find  Puritan  blood  running  in  almost 
all  their  veins.  In  Western  New  York  the  leading  element 
in  church  and  state  is  a  Puritan  element.  The  hardy  emi- 
grants from  New  England  plunged  into  its  dark,  dense  for- 
ests, and  have  in  less  than  (ifty  years  converted  them  into 
a  fruitful  field  and  planted  them  with  churches  of  the  living 
God.  Go  West,  and  there  you  will  find  the  descendants  of 
the  Puritans  the  salt  of  that  fertile  land.  Who  have  planted 
their  colleges  and  who  are  their  teachers  ?  New  England 
men.  Who  are  the  teachers  of  Western  children-?  Turn  to 
the  records  of  the  society  recently  formed  for  the  supply  ol 
teachers  at  the  West,  and  there  you  will  find  tha  name  of 
many  a  New  England  daughter  baptised  in  childhood  into  the 
sentiment  of  the  fathers,  and  baptized  in  heart  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Go  to  California.  You  will  find  crime  there  in  its  most- 
naked  and  deformed  features.  Where  will  you  look  for  justice  ? 
Where  for  those  who  are  a  terror  to  evil  doers  and  the  security 
of  such  as  do  well  ?  You  will  find  it  in  their  vigilance  com- 
mittee of  a  1000  men,  a  majority  of  whom  are  the  sons  of  the 
Puritans.  Grant  that  technically  their  proceedings  are  illegal. 
In  all  my  heart  I  believe  that  in  that  same  illegal  body  there  is 
concentrated  more  of  stern  justice  and  of  good  government 
than  can  be  found  in  the  nominal  officers  of  state.     Go  to  Ore- 


13 


gon.  Whose  hands  arc  rearing  their  houses  of  worship?  Chil- 
dren of  my  past  Sunday  school  are  there.  The  sons  of  Maine- 
are  there,  preaching  the  gospel  and  wielding  the  pen  and  the 
press.  It  is  estimated  that  the  lineal  descendants  of  the  Pu" 
ritana  now  amount  to  atwut  four  and  a  half  millions.  These 
are  exerting  an  influence  on  every  sea  and  all  through  our 
land.  God  has  kept  his  promise.  Instead  of  the  fathers  the 
children  have  been  multiplied  a  100  or  a  1000  fold.  Look  at 
our  church  or  rather  at  the  town.  Of  the  four  original  proprie- 
tors one  was  a  clergyman,  Rev.  John  Wheelwright,  under  cen- 
sure, to  be  sure,  but  a  good  man  doubtless.  It  is  now  a  little 
over  208  years  since  the  first  permanent  settlement  was  made. 
During  that  whole  period  this  part  of  the  town  has  been  des 
titute  of  a  ministry  of  our  denomination  but  a  traction  over 
22  yejars.  There  was  some  irregularity  attending  the  original 
church  in  the  place.  As  the  records  have  not  come  down  to 
us,  if  any  were  kept,  we  arc  not  able  to  specify  what  the  irreg- 
ularity was.  From  1664  to  1690  six  ministers  were  employed, 
viz.,  Joseph  Emerson,  Jeremiah  Hubbard,  Robert  Payne,  John 
Bass,  Percival  Green  and  Richard  Martin.  At  an  early  period 
a  meetinghouse  was  built,  and  a  parsonage  also.  It  is  proba- 
ble, says  Mr.  Greenleaf,  that  the  people  here  were  destitute  of 
preaching  for  several  years  toward  the  close  of  the  century.  At 
that  time  almost  every  settlement  in  Maine  was  broken  up  by 
the  savages,  and  that  at  Wells  narrowly  escaped.  In  1701  the 
religious  affairs  of  the  town  assumed  a  more  distinct  and  pros- 
perous shape.  On  the  29th  of  October,  1701,  the  church  was  or- 
ganized and  Mr.  Samuel  Emery  ordained.  His  ministry  con- 
tinued 24  years.  The  church  adopted  the  baptismal  form  and 
covenant  signed  by  the  following  male  members  :  John  Wheel- 
wright, William  Sayer,  Josiah  Littlefield,  Jon.  Littlefield,  Sam- 
uel Hill,  Joseph  Hill,  Daniel  Littlefield,  Natli'l  Clark,  Thomas 
Boston,  Nathaniel  Clayes,  Jas.  Adams,  and  Jeremiah  Storcr. 
This  was  wholly  discontinued  about  a  year  after  the  settlement 
of  Mr.  White.  Although  there  appears  to  have  been  no  special 
revival  during  his  ministry,  he  received  into  full  communion 
56  members  by  profession  and  13  by  letter.     Dec.  15,  1725,  Mr. 


14 


Samuel  Jeffords  was  ordained  over  the  church.  TTig  ministry 
cvas  evidently  a  spiritual  ministry.  lie  was  a  young  man,  being' 
only  21  at  the  time  of  his  settlement.  The  beginning  of  Mr. 
Jeffords'  ministry  was  prosperous,  and  a  considerable  number 
were  admitted  to  full  communion  within  a  year  after  his  ordi- 
nation. From  the  year  1740-42,  the  period  so  memorable 
throughout  all  New  England  for  the  wonderful  revivals  with 
which  almost  all  the  churches  were  favored,  the  labors  of  Mr.  Jef- 
fords seem  to  have  been  greatly  blessed.  Within  three  months 
from  Jan.,  1741,  39  persons  were  admitted  to  the  church,  and 
during  the  whole  season  of  awakening  71  persons  were  re- 
ceived to  the  church.  Instead  of  the  fathers  were  the  chil- 
dren. From  the  known  character  of  Mr.  Jeffords  it.  is  to  be 
presumed,  says  Mr.  Greenleaf,  they  all  gave  satisfactory 
evidence  of  a  change  of  heart.  In  1750  the  second  church 
in  Wells,  now  Kennebunk,  was  formed  of  members  ■  from 
this  church  resident  there.  Mr.  Jeffords  died  at  the  age  of 
48,  and  the  26th  year  of  his  ministry,  greatly  lamented  by 
all.  After  his  decease  Mr.  Samuel  Fayrweather  was  invited 
to  settle  with  the  people.  lie  returned  an  affirmative  an- 
swer, but  owing  to  a  strong  minority  against  him  the  coun- 
cil called  for  the  purpose  declined  ordaining  him.  February 
27,  1754,  Rev.  Gideon  Richardson  was  ordained  over  the 
church,  but  lived  only  four  years. 

In  1756  Wells  was  favored  with  a  second  revival.  It  took 
place  soon  after  the  great  earthquake,  which  is  said  to  have 
very  much  affected  the  mind  of  Mr.  Richardson.  lie  evident- 
ly became  more  engaged  from  that  time,  ami  in  the  course 
of  one  year  received  41  persons  to  the  church  on  profession 
of  their  faith.  After' the  death  of  Mr.  Richardson  Mr.  Mose* 
Ilemmenway,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  was  employed  to 
preach  as  a  candidate.  Having  received  a  call  from  the  church 
and  people  he  was  ordained  Augusts,  1759.  About  the  time 
of  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Ilemmenway  the  affairs  of  the 
colonies  were  thrown  into  a  most  perplexing  state  by  the 
oppressive  exactions  of  the  British  government.  Besides  this, 
Lhe  extravagances  of  a  class    of   self-styled    revivalists,  who 


15 


wrogated-to  themselves  all  the  piety  in    the  land,  who  went 
•bcrt  sowing  everywhere  the  seeds  of    dissension  and  st nfe 
and  from  the  melancholy  defection  of   vast    numbers  of  their 
supposed   converts,  many    became    disgusted    and   lost  their 
confidence  in  the  reality  of  revival.     The  result  was    togeth- 
er with  the  political   agitation   of  the  country,  that  the  great 
desideratum  of  the  minister  was  to  keep  the  peace  within  his 
parish      If  he  succeeded  in    this    he    gave  the  greater  satis- 
faction.     The  ministry  of  Dr.  Ilemmenway  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  this  respect.  It  was  protracted  through  more  than  hall 
a  century,  and  was,    as    Mr.    Grecnleaf   expresses  it,  uncom- 
monly peaceful  and  happy.     Dr.  Ilemmenway  was .a ^ profound 
scholar!     The  great   esteem    in    which    he    was    W**^ «* 
learned  and  good  men  of   his  day  is    manifested  m  the  doc- 
torate which  he  received  from  Cambridge  College  at  a  much 
earlier    period    of   his    life,  than    that   college  was    wont  to 
bestow  upon  her  sons.     He  was  a  diligent  and    indefatigable 
student.     He  Ted  the  people  with  knowledge.     He    never  oi- 
fercd  to  the  people,  says    Dr.    Bnekminster,  that  which   cost 
him    nothing.     His    sermons  were'elaborate   and    profoundly 
studied      If  he  failed,  he    failed  in  a  style  and  mode  of  rea- 
soning above  the  apprehension    of    most  of   his  hearers      He 
enlightened    the    understanding    more    than    he    warmed  the 
heart.     In  doctrine  he  was    a  Calvinist  of  the    old  school    a 
firm    believer  and    faithful    instructor  in  the  Assembly  s  Cate- 
chism.    In  avoiding  the  extra  vagaries  and  excesses  of  those 
who  addressed  from  the  pulpit  only  the  imagination  and  pas- 
sions, he  doubtless  went  to  the  opposite  extreme  ot  address- 
ing only  the  intellect,  an  error  quite  common  with  almost  all 
his  contemporaries.     Dr.  Ilemmenway  was    to  some  extent  a 
controversialist  and  a  faithful  defender,  of  the  faith  of  the  Pu- 
ritans against  the  Arian  and    Socinian  tendencies  of  the   day. 
\lthou«-h  less  successful  in  the  immediate  accession  of  mem- 
bers to  the  church  than  his  predecessors,   he    unquestionably 
fulfilled  an  important  mission    to    the    church  during  his  pro- 
tracted and  peaceful  ministry.     God  used   him  in  his   day  for 
a  mission  according  to  the  dictates  of   his   own  infinite  wis. 


16 


dom.  And  to  any  who  are  disposed  to  charge  him  with  a  coT- 
pablc  delinquency,  I  seem  to  hear  the  God  of  Israel  say, 
"  My  ways  are  not  your  ways/'  etc.  It  is  due  to  the  de- 
scendants of  Dr.  Hemmenway  that  they  are  found  among  the 
most  active  defenders  of  an  orthodox  faith.  We  know  what 
those  are  who  dwell  among  us.  The  branch  resident  in  Lyman 
is  found  among  the  most  spiritual  and  active  of  the  church 
there.  Of  the  Wells  branch  may  be  found  two  of  New  Hamp- 
shire's most  profound  and  devoted  ministers.  Nevertheless 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  from  the  time  of  the  revival  un- 
der Mr.  Richardson  a  gradual  decline  may  be  traced,  and  from 
55  divine  influences  were  withheld  ;  and  although  the  people 
were  still  favored  with  a  faithful  minister  no  particular  atten- 
tion appeared.  In  1810  Dr.  Ilernmenway's  health  began  to 
decline,  and  Mr.  White,  from  Thetford,  a  theological  student 
of  Dr.  Brewster,  came  to  Wells  in  the  autumn  of  that  yca.r 
and  preached  as  a  candidate  for  settlement  as  colleague  with 
Dr.  Hemmenway.  Mr.  White  was  an  eminently  spiritual 
man.  His  very  look,  which  I  well  remember  when  1  was  a 
child,  was  an  impressive  sermon.  lie  lived  as  one  standing  on 
the  brink  of  eternity.  Premonition  of  the  disease  of  which 
he  died,  made  him  feel  that  his  time  was  short  and  that  what 
he  did  must  be  clone  quickly.  Some  of  his  first  sermons  made 
a  lasting  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  people.  lie  re- 
ceived a  unanimous  call  to  settle  with  the  people,  to  which 
he  returned  an'affirmative  answer,  but  not  till  after  the  death 
of  Dr.  Hemmenway.  He  returned  in  the  spring  of  1811, 
when  the  minds  of  the  people  became  more  interested  and  in 
the  course  of  the  summer  the  attention  became  general.  Mr, 
White  was  ordained  June  26,  1811.  The  spirit  was  evident- 
ly poured  from  on  high.  The  Lord  gave  the  word  and  many 
fell  before  it  The  seed  sown  for  years  before  now  appeared 
to  spring  up  and  bear  fruit.  Mr.  White  being  soon  taken 
from  his  labors  by  sickness,  did  not  live  to  gather  more  than 
half  of  those  who  were  hopefully  converted  under  his  instru- 
mentality. Mr.  White  was  a  man  of  warm  heart  and  deep 
oned  piety.     He  so  spake   that   many  believed,    and  having 


17 


spoken,  he  early  went  to  his  rest.  He  died  at  the  age  of  33. 
Soon  after  his  decease  Mr.  David  Oliphant  was  employed 
as  a  candidate  and  received  a  call  which  he  declined.  Mr. 
Greenleaf  was  next  employed.  He  was  ordained  March  8, 
1815.  In  the  early  part  of  his  ministry  a  goodly  number  were 
received  into  the  church,  principally  the  fruits  of  the  revival 
under  Mr.  White.  During  the  year  1813  there  was  an  inter- 
esting revival  the  fruits  of  which  were  gradually  received  to 
the  church.  From  1815  to  1825  there  were  received  16  males 
and  64  females.  Inl826  there  was  not  a  single  member  add>?d. 
In  the  autumn  of  that  year  the  pastor  and  a  brother  of  the 
church  met  in  the  road.  Their  conversation  turned  upon 
the  low  state  of  religion.  Before  they  separated  they  agreed 
to  make  particular  families  the  subject  of  special  prayer,  and 
to  converse  with  individuals  as  they  might  have  opportunity. 
God  heard  the  prayers  and  smiled  upon  the  effort.  In  Jan- 
uary at  a  church  meeting  held  at  a  private  house  the  work 
of  God  assumed  a  distinct  and  marked  character.  A  large 
number  were  present  and  an  awful  solemnity  rested  upon 
each  mind.  They  felt  that  they  were  transacting  business  for 
eternity,  and  that  the  decisions  of  that  hour  might  be  the 
decision  of  an  everlasting  destiny.  It  was  clear  that  God 
had  come  down  to  visit  and  bless  his  people.  The  Bible  be- 
came the  book  of  books.  It  lay  open  upon  the  table  that 
the  female  might  glance  upon  its  open  page  as  she  pursued 
her  domestic  duties,  and  on  the  wheel  as  she  spun  her  yarn. 
The  work  continued  for  months  with  deep  and  solemn  interest. 
Converts  were  multiplied  of  all  ages.  But  the  Bible  class  was 
made  the  field  on  which  the  precious  rain  descended  most  co- 
piously. The  youth  became  large  sharers  in  the  work.  A  few 
united  with  the  church  in  the  spring  and  summer.  On  the  2d 
of  September,  1827,  10  males  and  22  females,  32  in  all,  united 
with  the  church.  From  April  12  to  Nov.  4,  1827,  77  made  a 
public  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ.  Soon  after  Mr.  Green- 
leaf  received  an  invitation  to  preach  to  seamen  in  Boston, 
which  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  accept,  and  was  accordingly  dis- 
missed for  that  purpose.   In  February,  1829,  Rev.  William  Clark 


18 


was  ordained  to  the  pastoral  office.  lie  brought  to  the  work 
all  the  ardor  and  zeal  of  his  naturally  warm  and  sanguine  tem- 
perament. He  sought  out  the  enemy  in  all  strongholds,  and  so 
daring  and  determined  were  his  assaults,  that  while  he  mad- 
dened the  foe,  he  startled  many  of  the  friends  of  righteousness, 
temperance  and  truth.  This  together  with  some  unintentional- 
ly unqualified  points  in  doctrine,  points  on  which  the  fathers 
were  sensitive  above  almost  all  else,  led  to  the  formation  of 
the  Second  Parish  and  church.  This  is  neither  the  time  nor 
the  place  to  speak  of  tho  wisdom  or  necessity  of  that  enter- 
prise. Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  fortresses  of  iniquity  soon 
began  to  tremble.  Neutrality  was  out  of  the  question.  lie 
was  everywhere  and  at  every  man.  The  ingenuous  "My  dear 
sir,"  or  "My  dear  madam,"  opened  the  way  to  the  heart.  Ilia 
assaults  upon  intemperance  were  with  thunder  and  lightning 
and  the  earthquake,  and  many,  many  is  the  man  who  will  re- 
member him  as  his  saviour  from  the  grave  of  the  inebriate.  The 
temperance  reform  prepared  the  way  for  that  pentecostal  sea- 
son which  opened  upon  this  people,  as  the  windows  of  heaven 
are  sometimes  opened,  in  the  commencement  of  a  protracted 
meeting  of  almost  unprecedented  power.  It  occurred  May,  1831, 
and  began  amidst  descending  rain.  The  farmer  was  compelled 
to  leave  his  plough  and  his  field.  The  neighbor  beheld  neigh- 
bor wending  his  way  through  the  pouring  rain,  and  said  I  also 
will  go  with  you.  The  female  could  not  refrain  ;  she  too  gathered 
about  her  the  garment  that  would  best  protect  her  from  the  fall- 
ing shower  and  made  her  way  to  the  house  of  prayer.  Each 
was  astonished  to  behold  the  crowd,  astonished  at  himself  that 
he  should  be  there  in  such  a  rain.  Conscience  whispered  the 
hand  of  God  is  in  this.  And  conscience  whispered  the  truth. 
God  was  in  it,  and  the  rain  without  was  but  an  emblem  of  the 
reign  of  righteousness  about  to  be  given.  The  preaching  com- 
menced. The  arrows  of  conviction  flew  thick  and  fast.  God 
gave  the  word,  and  many  a  stout  heart  quailed  before  it. 

But  why  attempt  to  describe  it  ?  To  be  just  in  the  descrip- 
tion one  must  have  been  an  eye  witness.  You  cannot  have  for- 
gotten the  scenes  that  transpired    during   that  solemn,  and,  in 


19 


some  of  its  aspects,  awful  convocation.     You  cannot  have    for- 
gotten how  you  felt  and    how  you    prayed   then.     You  cannot 
have  forgotten  the  day  and  the  scene  when  one  of  our  now  old 
men,  stung  by  the  reflection   that   he   was  a  sinner,  deserving 
the  lowest  hell,  and  condemned  already,  was  forced   to  cry  out 
for  mercy,  or  rather  to  kneel  before  that  ancient  altar,  before  the 
great  congregation  when  the  hand  and  the  voice  of  heaven's  am- 
bassador was  lifted  up  to  God  in  his  behalf.     You  cannot  have 
forgotten  the  troubled  look,  the  heaving  bosom,  the  tearful  eye 
and  the  trembling  voice  of  the  anxious  inquirer  while  the  ques- 
tion was  propounded  "What  must  I    do    to   be   saved?"     You 
cannot  have  forgotten  the  trembling  crowds  gathered    at  your 
old  parsonage,  your  thronged  morning  prayer  meetings.     You 
cannot  have  forgotten   the   solicitude  the    parent    felt    for  the 
cliiM,  or  the  child  for  the  parent.     Nor  can  you  have  forgotten 
how  good  every  sermon  seemed,  whether  it  were  the  result  of 
momentary  reflection  or  the  result  of  profound  study.      Nor  yet 
again  can  you  have  forgotten  those  occasions  occurring  on  al- 
most all  the  sacrament  sabbaths  when  so  many  of  you  entered 
into  solemn    covenant   with    God.     0  how  did  you  feel  when 
you  made  those   promises  to  God  that  you   could  never,  should 
never  dare  to  break  from.     There   was    doubtless    far   more  of 
animal  excitement  in  this  revival  than    in    any  preceding  one. 
Mr.  Clark's  ministry    continued    eight   years,  during  which 
149  members  were  received  to  the  church.     Surely  "instead  of 
thy  fathers,"  etc.    He  was  dismissed  at  his  own  request  that  he 
might  occupy  a  wider  field  as  agent  of  the    Foreign    Missions. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Jonas  Colburn.     During  his  minis- 
try the  church  was  favored  with  another  season  of  the  effusion 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.     From  March  11,  1838    to  July  30,   1843, 
45  members  were  received  to   the  church.     He  was  dismissed 
October,   1844,  and  was  succeeded   by   your   present    pastor, 
who  was  installed  Nov.    20  of   the    same  year.     Since  his  in- 
stallation you  have  enjoyed  one  whole  year  of  sabbaths.  These 
years,  which  embrace  the   year  of  sabbaths,    while  they  have 
been  the  most  laborious,  the  most  painfully  anxious   and    wast- 
ing to  body  and  mind,  have  been  the  most  unsuccessful,  pro- 


20 


vided  the  standard  of  judgment  be  made  the  number  of  hope- 
ful conversions  and  the  number  added  to  the  church.  There 
have  been  added  to  the  church  only  ten,  and  but  three  of  that 
number  by  profession,  while  16  members  of  the  church  have 
deceased  within  seven  years,  and  the  same  number  have  been 
dismissed  to  other  churches.  Had  time  permitted  I  would 
have  been  glad  to  have  gone  more  at  length  into  statistics. 
But  it  would  not.  As  our  meeting  is  only  in  recognition  of 
the  150th  anniversary  of  the  church,  I  have  as  a  matter  of 
propriety  kept  myself  within  the  religious  history  of  the  town.* 

We  pass  in  conclusion  to  a  consideration  of  the  fourth  topic 
specified  in  our  plan,  viz.,  the  obligations  resting  upon  the 
descendants  of  such  parents  to  hand  down  unimpaired  the  in- 
stitutions planted  by  the  fathers.  Obviously  in  the  first  place 
we  owe  an  amazing  debt  to  such  an  ancestry.  They  have 
placed  before  us  in  most  respects  an  example  worthy  of  a 
most  faithful  imitation.  Had  they  not  been  what  they  were, 
we  should  not  have  been  what  we  now  are  As  the  peculiar 
gestures  of  the  father  are  acted  over  again  in  the  child,  and 
as  the  lip  ofthe  little  one  is  still  playing  the  mother's  own  smile, 
though  she  be  gone,  so  the  past  by  wonderful  communication 
infuses  something  of  its  own  character  into  whatever  follows 
it.  He  who  has  no  reverence  for  the  past  is  an  unnatural  Bon 
mocking  at  age,  foreswearing  his  own  lather.  So  is  he  whose 
heart  is  not  warmed  with  gratitude  for  such  fathers.  Turn  to 
the  word  and  testimony;  how  rcadest  thou  ?  "1  will  be  thy 
God  and  the  God  of  thy  seed.  The  promise  is  unto  thee  and 
to  thy  children."  Because  God  delighted  in  the  fathers  to  love 
them,  therefore  "he  chose  their  seed  after  them  "  Whence  come 
our  unparalleled  advantages  ?  Whence  comes  it  that  ours  are 
not  the  habitations  of  cruelty  ?  Why  arc  we  not  groaning 
under  a  tyrant's  power  ?  Why  is  not  our  conscience  surrend- 
ered to  the  keeping  of  an  ecclesiastic  despot  ?  Why  have  we 
a  system  of  free  schools  and  a  free  press  ?  Why  are  not  our 
children  Gypsies,  taught  to  roam  and  steal  their  daily  bread  ? 
Why  sit  we  under  our  own  vine  and  fig  tree,  worshipping  God, 
with  none  to  molest  us  ?     There  can  be    but    a  single   answer. 


21 


Under  God  we  owe  it  to  the  piety,  the  strong  faith  and  pro- 
found wisdom  of  our  fathers.  Do  we  not  owe  them  a  debt  of 
gratitude  which  we  can  repay  only  by  imitating  their  example, 
and  by  handing  down  not  only  unimpaired  but  much  improved 
by  our  greater  experience,  the  invaluable  institutions  they  have 
bequeathed  us,  to  our  children  and  children's  children  ?  Shall 
we  not  prove  recreant  to  our  sacred  trust  and  invoke  the  ven- 
geance of  heaven,  rather  tlian  its  benediction,  unless  we  feel 
and  deeply  fee!  and  faithfully  fulfil  our  obligations?  Our  hands 
are  moulding  the  future  lot  of  our  children,  and  giving  touches 
and  shape  to  their  future  prospects.  Should  we  break  away 
from  the  great  and  fundamental  principles  which  they  so' loved 
and  valued  ;  should  we  decline  from  the  faithful  discipline  of 
the  church  and  undervalue  and  neglect  the  gospel  in  its  sim- 
plicity and  purity  ;  should  we  suffer  the  sabbath  to  decline  in 
its  lofty  sanctity,  and  become  careless  and  indifferent  whether 
the  rising  generation  be  reared  up  in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord  ;  should  we  so  live  as  to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God  as  to  cause  him  to  depart  altogether  from  us,  why  then 
this  result  will  follow,  as  surely  as  the  Lord  he  is  God  :  our 
children  and  our  children's  children  will  reap  the  bitter  fruits 
of  our  moral  husbandry  for  ages  to  come.  Our  obligations  are 
great.  The  holy  vows  of  God  are  upon  us.  We  cannot  shake 
them  off  if  we  would.  In  a  world  like  this  where  sin  abounds, 
where  a  thousand  insidious  influences  are  hourly  at  work  ad- 
verse to  the  cause  of  righteousness,  temperance  and  judgment 
to  come,  vigilance,  the  most  prayerful  vigilance,  is  demanded. 
We  are  the  recipients  of  inestimable  privileges  from  those  who 
hive  preceded  us,  privileges  not  conferred  for  ourselves  merely, 
but  for  the  sake  of  those  who  are  to  succeed  us.  How,  0  how,  if 
tin  bc  privileges  should  fail  to  reach  unborn  generations  through 
our  unfaithfulness,  can  we  meet  these  coming  generations  at 
the  awful  bar  of  God  !  Instead  of  the  fathers  you  the  children 
are  to  occupy  the  seats  at  the  communion  table  on  the  next 
Lord's  day.  If  you  arc  really  what  you  profess  to  be,  think, 
0  think  how  soon  you  will  be  with  your  fathers  above.  And 
then  think  whether  you  can  die  peacefully  until  you  have  seen 


22 


yonr  children  gathered  into  the  fold  of  the  great  Shepherd.  On 
whom  is  to  devolve  the  support  of  these  sacraments  ?  On  whom 
is  to  devolve  the  support  of  those  heaven-ordained  ordinances 
which  were  the  glory  and  salvation  of  the  fathers  ?  What 
cause  have  we  expect  that  our  children  will  take  them  up  and 
transmit  them  to  their  posterity  except  they  be  converted  to 
God  ?  How  solemn,  how  momentous  our  obligations.  Men 
and  brethren  with  what  solemn  emphasis  are  we  admonished 
to  redoubled  diligence  and  increased  fidelity. 


PHOTOMOUNT 

P-MPHLET  BINDER 

Manufactured  by 
GAYLORD  BROS   Inc. 
ljsc,  NY. 
Stockton,  Calif. 


DATE  DUE 

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MINHO  IN  U    S    » 

BX7150.W4F5C9 
Historical  discourse  ;  delivered  Oct. 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary- Sn». 


1    1012  00038  5155 


